Hints and Suggestions.

Otago Witness, Issue 2808, 8 January 1908, Page 74

Hints and Suggestions.

A little white sugar in the water in which" green vegetables are boiled will preserve their colour, and is better than the us© of soda. - f Zinc bath-tubs may be kept bright by periodical scrubbings with hot vinegar in which coarse salt has been dissolved.

To clean patent-leather slippers wipe them with a wet sponge dipped in milk, and polish with a soft cloth.

Sponge cake cut in slices and toasted 1 , then served hot 'with, a thin spreading of butter, is delicious for afternoon tea.

Insect Bites. — For stings or bites of any kind of' insect apply dampened salt, bound tightly over the spot. It will relieve and usually cure very quickly. Onion sandwiches are much relished by growing children, and are good for them. Slice tie onion very thin, salt slices of bread andi butter, and place the onion between.

'To darken tan shoes clean them with ammonia and milk. If you wish to accomplish the results quickly apply three times a day, letting -the shoes dry well between each application. As a rule, "cut flowers will last longer if allowed to stand a short time in water before , .using. This simply applies, of course., ■ when they are to be worn or carried^ as a bouquet, or. used in decorations where they may not be placed in water.

A haaidful of salt thrown into tEe tepid water with 4 which straw matting is wiped! will make it look extra fresh and clean.

Do you clean the receiver andi the mouthpdeoe of the telephone every week? It reafiy is quite as important as stirring up the dust under the tables, especially if several persons use the 'phone daily. A Remedy for Toothache. — Fill a small cup with boiling vinegar. Dip a piece of cotton wool into" the vinegar and rub the gum ; let the vinegar be as hot as you can endure. Stop the aching tooth with the same wool. In five minutes the pain will have ceased*. Sometimes, however, two applications must be made. To remove the deposit from the inside of tea-kettles, fill the- kettle with water, and add to it a drachm of sal-ammoniac. Let it boil for an hour, when the fur, or petrified substance found on the metal, will be dissolved and can be easily removed. Rinse the kettle out well, then boil it once -[or twice before using the contents.

— Simple Rules that May Save Life In Oases of Emergency. —

It is well for ,even tbe l&yman— or laywoman — to know some of the antidotes for the more common, poisons, for so quick is their action, that often the victim may be beyond recovery by the time th© doctor arrives. Here, then, are a few, arranged alphabetically for convenience. They do not in any case give all the remedies, but only those most likely to be found in the ordinary household. Alcohol. — Strong coffee ; aromatic spirits of ammonia ; keep body warm and head cold.

Arsenic, Fly-paper, Fowler's Solutions, etc. — Starch., linseed oil A mucilage, sweet

oil, gruel ; keep patient warm, and' give brandy of**srhisky to prevent collapse. Benzine. — Mustard; plenty of fresh air. Carbolic Acid. — Alcohol, followed by water ; vinegar or white of egg ; apply warm to extremities. Chloroform. — Strong, hot coffee ; hot and cold douches ; restore respiration by working arms ; if inhaled, not swallowed, lower head and pull tongue forward to admit fresh air. Cocaine. — Mustard and) hot water. Phosphorus, Rat Poison, Matches. — Mustard, turpentine and water every halfhour ; charcoal and lime-water ; Epsom salts ; no oil or fat. Stings of Bees, etc. — Ammonia-Ypater or onion ; bad sting — stimulants. v Strychnine, Nux Vomica, etc. — Mustard ; strong tea"; work arms if respiration is impaired. Toadstools.— 7-Mustferd, brandy ; keep body warm. Turpentine. — Mustard ; water,' linseed oil Do not choose between these remedies, but apply as many as possible in the order given. Most of these treatments are only partial, and a doctor should be sent for at once to supplement the earlier antidotes. Above all, don't lose your head, but keep "cool, and all will be well.

cool, an